In fact, you won’t find the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium anywhere on the TripAdvisor list of 70 or
so Columbus destinations.

Why? It’s in Powell. By TripAdvisor’s organizational principles, the zoo isn’t a Columbus
attraction. (TripAdvisor’s Columbus site, however, has articles on the zoo.)

In a way, I’m happy about the situation because, although the zoo doesn’t need TripAdvisor’s
help to attract tourists, the Jubilee Museum does. And it deserves the attention.

The museum (jubileemuseum.org), at 57 S. Grubb St. in
Franklinton, is a fascinating collection of mostly Roman Catholic artifacts, many of them rescued
from demolished churches.

It has an eclectic quality that I love in museums with small budgets but a big passion for their
mission. The Rev. Kevin Lutz, the founder, gave me a quick tour, pointing out treasures such as
stained-glass windows from the long-demolished St. Peter Church in Columbus, a Bible printed in
1558 and a snuff box of a 19th-century pope, Pius IX.

The priest noted that the museum’s collection includes three ornate altars once re-purposed as
kitschy bar decor.

The museum, which is in the building that houses the Holy Family Soup Kitchen (and was once Holy
Family High School), holds guided tours at 11 a.m. Saturdays and is open other days by appointment.
(The suggested donation is $7.)

The tours are supposed to last an hour, but Lutz, who was pastor at Holy Family Church before he
was transferred to St. Mary last year, has so many stories that they often run longer.

Usually, at least a few people show up on Saturdays, said curator Linda Hamilton. The
TripAdvisor ranking has helped.

The zoo, by contrast, expects to attract 2.2 million visitors this year, which is why it’s not
particularly upset about being left off the Columbus list. (It is No. 1 in little Powell, of
course.)

“I don’t now that it’s an issue for us,” said Patty Peters, zoo spokeswoman. “I have yet to hear
anyone say they couldn’t find us.”

TripAdvisor didn’t respond to a request for comment on how it assigns its attraction rankings,
but it appears to be similar to how it ranks hotels. The site uses an algorithm to rank hotels
based on the quality, quantity and recency of consumer reviews.

The Jubilee Museum apparently climbed to the top on the strength of 25 reviews, all of them
awarding the highest score of excellent. The zoo has 820 reviews, and 90 percent judge it excellent
or good.